Sunday, November 30, 2014

Unpacking Chuck: The TV Series Interpreted is just what the “Chuck” enthusiast has been waiting for! The first and only book analyzing the former NBC and current Netflix series, it digs beneath the surface of the dramatic elements of the show, addressing elements of the plot, characters, themes, and imagery from all five seasons. The author unpacks meanings embedded in the script, cinematography and musical lyrics of the audio-visual text while linking concepts throughout the series to aid interpretation. Not only does Unpacking Chuck clear up ambiguities regarding Chuck, Sarah, and their relationship, but entire chapters are devoted to Bryce Larkin, Orion, Frost, Ellie, Morgan, and three more on Casey! After reading Unpacking Chuck, you won’t view the series in quite the same way again.

by G. Walter Bush

This summer brought with it a first for “Chuck” fans: the publication of a book devoted to the show entitled Unpacking “Chuck”. Remarkably, its author, G. Walter Bush, never watched a single episode of the series while it aired on NBC. One of many recent converts, Bush discovered “Chuck” on Netflix long after the show finished its broadcast run, thanks in part to his teen-age son.

“I saw bits and pieces of episodes from Season 1 when I walked through the family room,” he explains, adding, “While it was entertaining, some of the things I saw actually intrigued me on a deeper level. It wasn’t your typical TV show.” Not only did it offer a unique blend of comedy, drama, romance and espionage, but the college prep high school English teacher noted the music, lyrics and cinematography worked in concert with the script and acting to create a text with substance and complexity. Consequently, he decided to sit down and watch the show from the beginning.

And Bush liked what he saw. “I was impressed with the subtle controlling metaphors and visual imagery that, on a deeper level, accented the central themes and character growth developed in the script.” Similar to his research for his master’s thesis on Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”, the deeper he looked, the more hidden links he discovered. Moreover, he didn’t find others talking about what he saw when checking elsewhere online. As a result, he decided to write a book of critical readings covering dramatic elements from all five seasons of the show. Though half of the final product—finished six months later-- is Chuck and Sarah-centric, the other half focuses on other characters and storylines.

What started out as a personal challenge morphed into something much larger. Global, in fact. With only a shoe-string budget, Bush self-published Unpacking “Chuck” as a kindle book on Amazon in early July only to find a global demand waiting for the book. “I was thrilled when my first copy sold outside the United States in the United Kingdom,” he admits. In September, the book also began selling on Amazon’s sites in Germany, Australia, and Canada. Italy joined the list in early October, followed by France and New Zealand. On his Unpacking “Chuck” Facebook page, Bush has received likes from even more European countries and even Africa (Uganda) leading him to conclude, “The show appeals to discerning fans everywhere, not just here in the U.S.”

As for the U.S., the ebook version claimed the #1 spot in Amazon’s kindle category of Television: Guides & Reviews (out of more than 600 titles). This success lead to the release of a softcover edition two weeks ago, which has made a couple of appearances in the top ten of the over-arching Television: Guides and Reviews category on Amazon (over 1600 titles). Bush sees this success as revealing something unique about the show and its fans, given the book didn’t appear until more than two years after the last broadcast of “Chuck”: “I think a large part of the fan base is still committed and hungry to relive, think and embrace something fresh about the show. They want to continue the conversation.”

Indeed, what gives the author of Unpacking “Chuck” the most satisfaction is letters from die-hard fans like one he received from a viewer who caught the “Chuck” bug in Season 1 and still regularly re-watches the show on DVD. The writer noted his initial reluctance to purchase the book because he didn’t want to ruin the enjoyment of “MY SHOW.” Instead, the writer thanked Bush for enriching that experience by helping him to see the deeper meanings embedded in the show. A “Chuck” latecomer, Bush takes that as the ultimate compliment, conceding, “When an original ‘Chuck’ fan tells you that, what more can you ask?”

G. Walter Bush has spent his life analyzing texts. The author holds degrees in literature from two institutions, Westmont College (B.A.) and the University of California, Irvine (M.A.). Mr. Bush has taught college prep English at a Southern California public high school for over twenty years, during which time he has also completed stints as an adjunct professor in English at Saddleback Community College and Concordia University. Unpacking Chuck is his first book.

Like the Unpacking "Chuck" Facebook page while visiting for updates and follow the author on Twitter @G_Walterbush.

Friday, November 28, 2014

I was getting ready to spend the single most important holiday of the year alone. Completely and utterly alone.

That meant he wouldn’t be there Christmas Eve. No making Christmas cookies, or listening to my dad sing off-key while my mom bustled around wrapping last-minute gifts. No decorating the tree. No midnight Christmas kiss.

No waking up in Grey’s arms. We were actually going to spend our very first Christmas in different states.

When I started writing A Very Grey Christmas it was August. Who wants to think about Christmas trees and snow in August, right? Well, my solution for getting in the holiday spirit and setting the romance scene I needed was in this playlist. I love Michael Bluble's holiday CDs and there are some other great classics on here such as Ella Fitzgerald's Baby It's Cold Outside. Yes, you can laugh at my 98 Degrees addition, but I promise there is romance in them. One song of theirs may have even inspired one of the scenes in the novella.

I hope you enjoy the music, and they help add a little cheer to your holiday spirit.

T.A. Foster is a Southern girl whose heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children and two canine kiddos.

Her long love affair with books started at an early age, and as soon as she was able, she transformed imaginative stories into words on paper.

T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing or planning her next beach trip.

***The powerful continuation of the story that began in Reclaiming the Sand- a tale of love and forgiveness and learning to move on from a past that has come to define you.***

Bully and Victim

Friend and Lover

Past and Future

Ellie McCallum and Flynn Hendrick’s story was as painful as it was devastating. But they were able to find within each other an unlikely yet beautiful love. Despite the obstacles that tried to keep them apart.

And together they rose out of the ashes of their tragic history.

Now years after their life changing reunion Ellie is back in Wellston, having just graduated from college and ready to start her future with the man who taught her how to love. However, returning to a town that held so much bitterness and anger was the last place she wanted to start over.

But for Flynn, who is now an art professor at the community college and firmly rooted in the place that gave them their beginning, she’d do just about anything.

Yet it’s difficult building a life when you’ve only just learned how to live.

And love, no matter how strong, doesn’t always conquer all.

Ellie and Flynn must learn how far they are willing to go to stay together. Or whether the ghosts of the past will consume them both.

Because finding a happily ever after is harder than it seems. Particularly when you’re fighting against the one thing that could destroy you.

Ellie McCallum was a bully. No connection to anyone or anything. A sad and lonely existence for a young woman who had come to expect nothing more for herself. Her only happiness coming from making others miserable.

Particularly Freaky Flynn.

Flynn Hendrick lived a life completely disconnected even as he struggled to become something more than that boy with Asperger's. He was taunted and teased, bearing the brunt of systematic and calculated cruelty, ultimately culminating in a catastrophic turn of events that brought Ellie and Flynn’s worlds crashing down.

But then Flynn and Ellie grew up.

And moved on.

Until years later when their paths unexpectedly cross again and the bully and the freak are face to face once more.

When labels come to define you, finding yourself feels impossible. Particularly for two people disconnected from the world who inexplicably find a connection in each other.

And out of the wreckage of their tragic beginnings, an unlikely love story unfolds.

But a painful past doesn’t always want to let go. And old wounds are never truly healed…and sometimes the further you try to run from yourself the closer you come to who you really are.

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series for Gallery Books.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.

When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two.

A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?

Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.

You can hear Misty, blogger at The Book Rat, and Heather Demetrios, author of Exquisite Captive, talking about the giveaway relay. All you need to know is in that video. For further information go here or to Heather Demetrios' website.

Heather Demetrios, originally from Los Angeles, now lives in Brooklyn and various imaginary locales. She is the recipient of a PEN New England Discovery Award for her debut YA novel about reality TV stardom, SOMETHING REAL (Macmillan/Henry Holt), and is the author of the upcoming EXQUISITE CAPTIVE, a smoldering fantasy about jinn in Los Angeles (#1 in the DARK CARAVAN fantasy trilogy from HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray). She is currently working on her second novel for Macmillan, I’LL MEET YOU THERE, a love story about a young combat veteran and a girl trapped in their small town, both struggling to escape the war at home. When she’s not hanging out with her characters, Heather is working on her MFA in writing for children and young adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts.